Yulia Putintseva has apologized for repeatedly treating a ball girl with contempt while serving balls for a service game at the US Open.

Putintseva was on her way to a straight-set third-round loss to Jasmine Paolini on Saturday when she took out her frustration on the innocent ball girl.

When Putintseva was down a set and 2-4, the girl tried to throw balls in her direction before she could serve.

But the Russian-born player from Kazakhstan made no attempt to catch or lift her, but stared angrily at the girl with his arms hanging at his sides.

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Eventually she managed to catch a ball, which earned her boos from the crowd in Flushing Meadows and condemnation on social media. Boris Becker posted on X: “What does Putintseva think she’s doing… terrible behavior towards the ball girl!!!”

Three-time Grand Slam doubles champion Rennae Stubbs also wrote: “The disrespect and disgusting behavior here is unbelievable and typical of her.”

Putintseva apologized on social media after her loss, writing: “I want to apologize to the ball girl for my behavior when she gave me balls.

“Honestly, it wasn’t about her. I was really mad at myself for not being able to win the match from the break point, and then I was so emotionally empty and lost in thought that I didn’t even focus on what was going on and who was giving me the ball.

“All the ball boys performed brilliantly at the Open, as always.”

Footage of the incident shows the ball girl returning to her seat with a wry smile and shaking her head at what had just happened.

Putintseva, who reached the quarterfinals in 2020, won just two more games, while fifth-seeded Paolini comfortably advanced to the fourth round thanks to a 6-3, 6-4 win.

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